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Lairg teenager Morven Thomson speaks of pride of playing for Scotland at the Girls Under-18 Rugby Sevens Championship in Prague in Czech Republic


By Will Clark

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MORVEN Thomson says it was a privilege to represent her country after being selected to play for Scotland at the Girls Under-18 Rugby Sevens Championship.

Morven Thomson
Morven Thomson

The Lairg teenager was called up to the squad to compete at the tournament in Prague in Czech Republic.

Thomson (17) helped Scotland to victory in two of their six matches, which included a 43–0 win over Portugal and a 17–0 victory over Ukraine.

Thomson made her Sevens debut for Scotland and says pulling on the national shirt was an experience that she will never forget.

“I never played Sevens before but all the girls in the programme hadn’t played Sevens before either, but we had a great coach training us,” she said.

“There was a lot of running involved and Sevens is a different game from 15’s.

“It felt weird to put on a Scotland shirt, but looking back at the photos it was quite a cool experience to do that.

“It was a good weird, people were on the sidelines shouting come on Scotland and I realised they were cheering on for me.

“France were brilliant and some teams we faced were a different level. But it was a great experience.”

Morven Thomson in action for Scotland against Ireland. Picture: Rugby Europe
Morven Thomson in action for Scotland against Ireland. Picture: Rugby Europe

Thomson comes from a family of rugby players, which include her dad Iain and two brothers Roddy and Elliot.

She started at Ross Sutherland Rugby Club when she was at primary school before joining Caithness Rugby Club when she started high school.

It was playing at the Thurso club when she caught the attention of national selectors.

“My coach put me forward to a trials day in January.

“There were around 140 players taking part and it was cut down to half on the second day of the trials.

“Caithness have always done well with girls rugby as a number of their players have gone on to play for Scotland.

“I had to do an hour and a half trek to play rugby for Caithness, but it has been worth it.

“Before Covid there was a lot of games and it involved overnight trips, they took the whole weekend but it was always good fun.”

Morven Thomson in action for Scotland in Prague. Picture: Rugby Europe
Morven Thomson in action for Scotland in Prague. Picture: Rugby Europe

Thomson finished her final year at Golspie High School this summer and is awaiting her exam results next week.

She is now planning to head to Edinburgh and study sport science at Heriot Watt University.

This year also marks the end of her time in under-18’s rugby.

But she is looking to make the step up into the women’s game and see where it takes her.

“I am hoping to play rugby in Edinburgh,” says Thomson.

“I have finished playing under-18’s so it will be a big change moving into women’s rugby. But I want to play as much club rugby as I can.

“There are trials for the Scotland Future squad which are taking place in December, and it’s my plan to take part. Once you get a taste for playing for Scotland, you want to keep going.”

Morven Thomson
Morven Thomson

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